Windmill 'De Distileerketel', Delfshaven, R'dam

'Disteleerketel' = 'Distillery Kettle' = 'distillery boiler'.  A very unique name!
R'dam = Rotterdam
Delfshaven is an old district in Rotterdam.  It escaped 'relatively' unscathed from the war, but, frankly, I didn't find all that many 'old' buildings in it.  Many have been demolished through the years, or repaired and are therefore no longer 'old', but, rather, recycled.  The local government calls the area 'historic', a misnomer.  But maybe that is just me.

The original windmill on this site was built in 1727.  This burned down in 1899 and was rebuilt, and the second one operated till 1922.  In 1940, it was destroyed by fire at the beginning of the war, when Dutch and German troops were slugging it out in the area.  Rotterdam is a rather strategically located town, so the Germans were keen to control it.  In the 1980s, the town decided that Delfshaven wouldn't be 'historically authentic' if it didn't have a windmill, so this current one was finished in 1986.  In short, it's not as historic as so many others, but if one doesn't know, then it doesn't really matter.

Shot between 15.00 and 15.30.  Drove first to Schiedam, but I had hardly arrived at the target when the clouds decided it would be a capital idea to visit there, too.  Took very good shots but one cannot be resourceful with a camera when there's a shower.  Delfshaven was just around the corner, but I wasn't sure I was interested.  When I had passed by about four months ago, I had noticed that the sail rods were bare, so I thought the mill was being renovated.  I said to myself that I was just going to check if the sails were back, and they were.  Parked my car, walked to pay for my parking, and discovered that parking is free on Sundays... hurrah!  So now I took my time, waited for the clouds to shift, and then the sun came out, getting ready to set, and the orange light changed everything.

In the evening, AW and I drove to Son's place -- Nani turned 9 today!  I did not take any shots, but Son did.  Nani and Flynn are growing up so fast, and Nani is starting to behave like an adolescent, with moods and stuff, but I think she was just hyper because it was 'her' day.  I sat beside Rani's mother... what a lovely person!  Also saw both Rani's sisters, one of which I'd never met before.  We were supposed to come in the evening, and we don't know who else came earlier in the day, but the company in the evening was just fantastic.  Ended up staying longer than planned, with lots of stories and laughs.  Son and I discussed that ridiculously long trip I made last weekend and he gave me tips for next time.  It seems that he is really 'my' son.  Not by blood, perhaps, but in so many other ways.  He also learned to speak proper English by listening to me, something I'm happy to have influenced.  We spoke Dutch the whole time, though, but he is proud to be bilingual every time he goes abroad.  We appear to share a love of the road -- AW, Son, and I.

A great day!  Very, very thankful.